Category Science & Technology
Synchronized swimming: Collections of microorganisms make their own waves
Some microorganisms prefer the breaststroke while swimming. Others move along by essentially twisting their tail. How populations of bacteria and other microorganisms swim is more than just a matter of style, according to Mike Graham, University of Wisconsin–Madison Harvey D. Spangler Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering.
Study uncovers how Ritalin works in brain to boost cognition, focus attention
In a paper publishing online this week in Biological Psychiatry, UW–Madison psychology researchers report that Ritalin fine-tunes the functioning of neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) - a brain region involved in attention, decision-making and impulse control - while having few effects outside it.
Recent sightings: Algae on Lake Mendota
Following approximately 15 inches of rainfall during the first two weeks of June, algae collects on the surface water…
Studies of cell traits nets big award for UW–Madison researcher
UW-Madison biochemist Doug Weibel has received a prestigious Searle Scholar Award.
BIO 2008: Targeted therapies enjoy banner year
With all the buzz about stem cell research breakthroughs and other highlights in a year of life-science innovation, it was targeted therapies with companion molecular diagnostics that gained the most in terms of development and usage, according to a new study released by Deloitte Consulting.
Study: Breast cancer patients with greater need seek more information online
Patients with more concerns about their breast cancer are heavier users of online information, according to a new study conducted by the University of Wisconsin–Madison Center for Excellence in Cancer Communications Research, funded by the National Cancer Institute.
Newly born twin stars show surprising differences
The analysis of the youngest pair of identical twin stars yet discovered has revealed surprising differences in brightness, surface temperature and possibly even the size of the two.
Ebb and flow of the sea drives world’s big extinction events
A new study, published online June 15 in the journal Nature, suggests that it is the ocean, and in particular the epic ebbs and flows of sea level and sediment over the course of geologic time, that is the primary cause of the world's periodic mass extinctions during the past 500 million years.
Ancient mineral shows early Earth climate tough on continents
A new analysis of ancient minerals called zircons suggests that a harsh climate may have scoured and possibly even destroyed the surface of the Earth's earliest continents.
Curiosities: Why does the sky turn green before a tornado?
Scott Bachmeier, a research meteorologist at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at UW–Madison, says that particles in the air scatter…
Agent in red wine found to keep hearts young
How, scientists wonder, do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats?
Entrepreneurship becoming acceptable, even fashionable, in Wisconsin
With the sixth annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs' Conference set for June 9-10 in Milwaukee, there are increasing signs the state is becoming a place where entrepreneurs can survive — and even flourish.
Milky Way’s infrared portrait gives new view of galaxy
Astronomers have obtained an entirely new perspective of our home galaxy: a complete mosaic portrait of the Milky Way in infrared light, a picture that when printed measures 180 feet long by 4 feet wide.